Alabama Social Studies SS24.US1.5d
The Standard
- SS24.US1.5
- Explain causes, courses, and consequences of United States’ expansionism and the rise of Manifest Destiny ideology prior to 1848.
Analyze reasons for migration via the western trails and the consequences of the rapid settlement of California, Oregon, Texas, and Utah on those migrating, those residing in these regions, and on the United States as a whole.
2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain why migrants headed to California, Oregon, Texas, and Utah for gold, farmland, religious refuge, or other opportunities. They describe how rapid settlement affected migrants, people already living there, and the United States.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can use a map and short sources to connect a destination to a reason for moving. They can explain a gain or loss for migrants, Native nations or Mexican residents, and the country, with a specific example for each.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may assume every western traveler was seeking gold. They may describe the land as empty or overlook how settlement displaced Native nations and affected Mexican residents.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Choose California or Utah. Name one reason migrants went there, then explain one effect on migrants, one on people already living there, and one on the United States.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs a blank map and four destination cards; have them mark trails and write one reason migrants chose each place.
Ask: Who gained land from settlement in Texas, and who lost it? Have students support each answer with a short source.
Play a card sort: match gold, farmland, religious refuge, and slavery to destinations, then add one consequence to each match.
Show a modern map of California cities; have students locate former gold towns and discuss how the gold rush changed settlement.
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Related Standards
- SS24.HG.9b
Explain the causes and consequences of migration within the United States, citing historical examples.
- SS24.2.14
Explain how and why people have moved into and within the United States.
- SS24.HG.9a
Explain the causes and effects of the migration of various ethnic groups to the United States.
- SS24.US1.14a
Evaluate the contributions of the Homestead Act and the transcontinental railroad to increased migration to and settlement of the West.
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